Post by 3 on Jan 15, 2005 14:17:25 GMT 1
HOOD INTERVIEW
Love and loss from Leeds.
“All songs are about love and loss aren’t they?” Standing outside his chalet during the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival, Hood’s Chris Adams endures some light probing from Collective, despite the knacker-shrivelling November cold. He refuses to be drawn on specific meaning, leaving Hood’s fourth and latest album an enigmatic meld of lovelorn lyrics and a densely woven mix of acoustic and electronic instrumentation.
Unlike most folktronica artists, they crucially remember to chuck a few tunes in. As Chris elaborates, “After the last record I totally assumed we were gonna make a very poppy record, because we’ve made quite a few dark albums. It’s less electronic certainly.” The move away from tracks and bleeps is clear – where Cold House was riddled with cold circuitry, this latest from the Leeds four-piece is built on melody and songs, and pulses with a warm humanity. In short, it’s a big soppy bastard of an album.
Hood onstage at All Tomorrow's Parties, Dec 2004.
Based loosely around the quartet of Chris, his brother Richard, Steven Royle and Mark Wright, Hood invite a revolving door of players on each album. (“We had to get people in to help us out with the bits we couldn’t play.”) Indeed, 2001’s Cold House saw the band collaborate with Doseone and Why?, formerly of Anticon’s cLOUDDEAD. Certainly not the most obvious candidates: “Whoever comes along we’ll work with, if we’re feeling it.” In this case at least, the means more than justify the end.
James Cowdery - www.bbc.co.uk